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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. pound — a weight
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bat — the animal
  18. pitch — completely
  19. date — the fruit
  20. row — a line
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. row — to paddle
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. prune — to trim

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com